Everything hurt. Everything inside me screamed at me to stop when I tried to move. My plan was to sit up and move myself to my bed, but obviously that wasn't going to happen.

It was dark, nearly pitch black in my room, telling me I'd been unconscious for hours. But if it was that dark, that would mean I needed to get up for school soon.

I groaned softly and attempted to roll over, to no avail. I tried again, only for the same sharp, knife-like pains to shoot through my ribs. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from crying and got myself onto my hands and knees.

Slowly, I leaned back on my knees, wincing as it hurt my right leg. I let out a breath as I was able to relax in a kneeling position, but was already dreading the next step: standing up.

It might've only taken less than five minutes, but it felt like it took an hour to get to my feet. And then I nearly tripped on my way to the bed. I gripped the quilt and collapsed, passing out again the moment my head hit the pillow.

The next time I woke, the room was lighter, but I knew it wasn't quite day. A grey hue had taken over the blackness from before.

I sat up, only to bite my tongue to stop myself from crying out. How could I have forgotten to take it slow? I turned and lowered myself to my stomach, moving as slow as possible. I reached down and unzipped my backpack that had been thrown on the ground beside my bed. I stuck my hand in and pulled out my iPod and headphones.

I grunted as I pulled myself back into my bed, gripping my iPod with one hand and clutching my midsection with the other, trying to ignore my ribs. I groaned and collapsed back onto my pillow when I saw the time. 4:33 AM. That means I had an hour and a half before I really had to be awake.

But I couldn't fall back asleep. I tried and tried, but my eyes just didn't want to stay closed. Giving up, I put in my earbuds and clicked play on my music. Taylor Swift came on and I relaxed, leaning back on my headboard and staring at the ceiling.

I had just gotten to the point where I was tired enough to fall back asleep when my alarm rang. Thanks a lot, life.

I sighed and turned off the music, sticking my iPod back into the bag. I slowly slid off my bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I took a quick, but painful shower and pulled on jeans and a striped hoodie that went to my chin. I chose the hoodie because I knew it would cover up the mark on my neck; the one Jack left when he'd choked me.

I grabbed my backpack from my room and went to the kitchen, not realizing my brush, the mirror, and any makeup I had was untouched this morning. Because of the pain, it had taken me a lot longer to get ready, leaving me only five minutes before Jack woke up for work.

I ran my fingers through my damp hair, wincing at the painful movement and the thought it probably looked like a mess. I was starting to stress out; I didn't have time. The clock was ticking and I knew I had to get out of here at any moment. So, I placed a box of cereal, a bowl, milk, and a spoon on the table.

I heard his door swing open just as the spoon hit the table. Hopefully it was good enough, because I ran then, ignoring the searing pain in my leg, my ribs, and my back. I fought through the pain until I was halfway down the street and I felt safe enough to relax.

I gripped my hoodie, wanting to scream. Why was this my life? Why couldn't I have loving parents? Why was I spending my life with that monster? Why didn't my mom take me with her? Being dead seemed a whole lot better than living at the moment.

Just like the rest of my morning, the path to school was slow. I reached homeroom just as the bell rang. I lowered my head and slid into the same seat as the day before, ignoring Jaycee.

"Hey, Eirenae." She said.

I didn't even look at her.

I saw her frown from the corner of my eye. "What's wrong?"

I ignored her, taking out a book and turning to the page that was bookmarked.

She sighed. "Is it because our friend scared you?"

I closed my eyes and swallowed, wishing she'd just leave me alone. She didn't understand. I didn't want her to understand.

"Eirenae. . ."

I buried my face deeper into the book.

"Eirenae please acknowledge me at least in some way."

Giving up, I turned my head to look at her. Instead of smiling like I thought she would, Jaycee gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

"Oh my gosh, Eirenae! What happened to your face?"

I stared at her, confused. What was she talking about? And then I remembered. I widened my eyes and my hands flew to my face. I winced as I touched my cheekbone, where I knew there was a bruise.

"Jaycee." Our teacher warned. No one could hear what Jaycee had said — or at least I hoped so — but they could hear she wasn't silent like we were supposed to be then.

Jaycee snapped her mouth shut but stared at me with unblinking green eyes. They seemed to be glowing. I turned away from her and let my curtain of hair fall between us fall again. I tried to pay attention, ignoring the curly head next to me that wouldn't stay still. She was struggling not to say anything to me; it was obvious she didn't do well when told to keep quiet. Out of my peripheral, I could see her mouth opening and closing several times, as if every time to went to speak to me, she thought better of what the consequences could turn into. Good. I didn't want her to point anything out again.

I, however, did not know what to do now. The second that bell rang, Jayce was going to explode at me. Do I run after she starts asking questions? Do I walk straight to my next class and block out her jabbering? Wait, what if she gets her friends and they start blabbering about my messed up face? What happens when they follow me home, demanding answers. They seemed like those kind of people.

My breathing shallowed out, and the world became blurry. I couldn't fight the tears any longer, and my mind couldn't focus anymore. I was panicking; I needed to get out of here. Now.

Ignoring Jaycee and the teacher calling me back, I rushed out of the classroom, biting my cheek to stop myself from crying out. I raced down the hall and flew into the girl's restroom. I leaned on the sink and gasped.

I'd forgotten to put on makeup. Normally, that wouldn't be much of an issue — as a lot of the blows he gave were to the abdomen — but after last night, my face was painted in awful shades of yellow, green, purple, blue, and brown. The worst spots were on my cheekbone and my jaw. My lip was split and a red line cut my eyebrow short; one inch lower and my eye would've been swollen shut. The opposite eye was slightly swollen, and I noticed my hair had not been brushed.

I remembered not having time to brush my hair, but how did I forget to cover up the damage to my face? I knew how much pain I was in this morning. I knew to wear this hoodie and cover my neck. Why not my face? How did I just blow past that?

I put my face in my hands as tears started streaming down my face. I couldn't go back to class, not like this! And I couldn't go home, I didn't know when Jack left for work or when he came home and I didn't want to risk anything after what happened yesterday. I slid down the wall, pulling my knees to my chest and ducking my head.

I didn't know how long I sat like that, crying on the bathroom floor, pathetically, but eventually I heard someone slide down next to me. I didn't look up, but I was pretty sure it was Jaycee. I assumed she'd followed me here. Even though I knew someone was there, the hand that rested on my shoulder still made me jump.

"Do you want me to bring you to Kota?" A small voice asked. I vaguely recognized this voice, and it didn't belong to Jaycee.

Who's Kota? I blinked and looked up, finding a petite girl with dark hair and bright brown eyes next to me. She resembled Jaycee in her facial features and I recognized her, but barely.

She smiled at me. "I'm Evangeline, but you can call me Eva. Do you want me to bring you to your mate?"

Mate? What was she talking about? I blinked and wiped away my tears. I remembered Eva from yesterday now, but I didn't know if I wanted to leave my bathroom hide-out yet.

She gently gripped my hand and helped me up. If she saw me wince in pain, she didn't mention it. She led me to the door and opened it just enough to poke her head out. I wasn't going to fight her. She seemed to think bringing me out would help. And maybe it could, even if I didn't think I wanted it. Besides, it was way to painful of a maneuver to get out of her hand.

"No one's out there." She told me. "Does that make you feel better?"

I gave her a small smile and shrugged. She laughed a little and opened the door all the way, pulling me out after her.

We paused and I stared at her. Did she just sniff the air? I didn't have time to dwell on that fact though, because suddenly she was off, dragging me down the hall and turning a few times. We climbed the stairs and I saw him. The guy from yesterday.

I froze, nearly knocking Eva backwards. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked.

I shook my head, flicking my eyes to him. She let out a huff of a laugh. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

He saw us then, a smile lighting his face when he spotted me. That smile vanished as soon as he noticed my face. At lightning speed, he was in front of me.

"Oh Goddess, what happened to her?" He asked frantically.

Eva shrugged. "I'm not sure. I found her in the bathroom like this." I was thankful she didn't mention I'd been sobbing.

He gently took my hands and sparks exploded, dancing around our hands. I gasped and leaned backwards. His eyes lit up for a second before turning back to being serious and concerned.

"Hey, it's okay." He told me softly, but he sounded like he was restraining himself. Like his voice was really rough and ragged. "Come here, let me help you."

I don't know if it was how genuinely concerned he looked, or if it was the desire to feel the sparks again that pushed me forward. Instead of walking to him like of originally planned, I tripped and stumbled towards him instead.

He caught me and scooped me up, holding me bridal style. The movement reminded me of my ribs and I whimpered, instinctively burying my face into his chest. I felt my eyes become heavy and I knew I was close to passing out again. He was warm, and for a reason unknown to me, in that moment he felt safe. He mumbled something to Eva I didn't catch as my eyes fluttered closed.